Nykelle DeVivo, mami wata, from the series On Becoming, 2018

On Becoming
Nykelle DeVivo

My practice is a personal meditation on the space between our world and that of spirit. Less interested in the destination, my photographs work to document the shift. The moments of time between moments of time, the pause between the clap. Raised in a deeply religious household and honoring the language of afro spiritualism my images reflect a lifetime of reverence for the divine while bearing the weight of our physical world. Now I find spirit in the collective hopes we place on a pair of sneakers, the way flowers reach for the sun, and the eyes of those I love. All can act as a portal to other worlds and as entrance for spirit unto ours. I photograph to bear witness of God as a reminder, as prayer, and as a reflection of self. 



Nykelle DeVivo, towards ascension, from the series On Becoming, 2020

Nykelle DeVivo, black metamorphosis, from the series On Becoming, 2019

Nykelle DeVivo, mami wata, from the series On Becoming, 2018

Nykelle DeVivo, door to the cosmos, from the series On Becoming, 2018

Nykelle DeVivo, becoming, from the series On Becoming, 2020

Nykelle DeVivo, “god is alive, magic is afoot”, from the series On Becoming, 2016

Nykelle DeVivo, my hatred is rooted in love, from the series On Becoming, 2019

Nykelle DeVivo, grand illusion, from the series On Becoming, 2017

Nykelle DeVivo, flash of the spirit, from the series On Becoming, 2018,

Nykelle DeVivo, before we marched, from the series On Becoming, 2020

Image by Devyn Sinclair.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Nykelle DeVivo

In using photography as language to understand their evolving sense of self, Portland based artist Nykelle DeVivo finds their voice referring to histories of Afro spiritualism and expressions of Black queer joy. Photographing ethereal bodies of light, sensual self portraits and quiet moments of prayer, their images act as a portal between timeless states of being and the physical world they inhabit. Nykelle studied critical theory & photography at the San Francisco Art Institute before going on to be published in articles such as Aint-Bad & I-D, displaying in group shows across the country, and assisting journalists for projects in The New York Times, The California Sunday Magazine and more.

Website: nykelledevivo.com
Instagram: @Nykelle_DeVivo